Lip Cancer

What is Lip Cancer?

Lip cancer occurs on the skin of the lips. Lip cancer can occur anywhere along the upper or lower lip, but is most common on the lower lip. Lip cancer is considered a type of mouth (oral) cancer. Lip cancer develops from abnormal cells that grow out of control and form lesions or tumors on the lips. It develops in thin, flat cells - called squamous cells.

What causes lip cancer?
Lip cancers form when cells on the lips or in the mouth develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. A cell's DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do. The mutations changes tell the cells to continue growing and dividing when healthy cells would die. The accumulating abnormal mouth cancer cells can form a tumor. With time they may spread inside the mouth and on to other areas of the head and neck or other parts of the body.

We, at CAN-C provide lip cancer treatment in Bangalore.

Here, you will find information about signs and symptoms, causes and risk factors, types, diagnosis, staging and prevention about lip cancer.

Signs and symptoms of lip cancer include:

1

A sore, lesion, blister, ulcer, or lump on the lip that doesn't go away

2

A red or white patch on the lip

3

Bleeding or pain on the lips

4

Swelling of the jaw

5

Trouble chewing or swallowing or moving the tongue or jaw

Factors that may increase your risk for lip cancer include:

1

Smoking or using tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or chewing tobacco)

2

Heavy alcohol use

3

Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight (both natural and artificial, including tanning beds)

4

Having light-colored skin

5

Having human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection

6

Being aged

7

A weakened immune system

We have got reputation for excellence in providing lip cancer treatment in Bangalore.

Types of lip (mouth (oral)) cancer are:

1

Squamous cell carcinoma: More than 90 percent of cancers that occur in the oral cavity (lip cancer) are squamous cell carcinomas. Normally, the throat and mouth are lined with so-called squamous cells, which are flat and look like fish scales on a microscopic level. Squamous cell carcinoma develops when some squamous cells mutate and become abnormal.

2

Verrucous carcinoma: About 5 percent of all oral cavity tumors are verrucous carcinoma, a type of very slow-growing cancer made up of squamous cells. This type of oral cancer (lip cancer) rarely spreads to other parts of the body, but it may invade nearby tissue.

3

Minor salivary gland carcinomas: This disease includes several types of oral cancer that may develop on the minor salivary glands, which are located throughout the lining of the mouth and throat. These include adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma and polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma.

4

Lymphoma: Oral cancers that develop in lymph tissue, which is part of the immune system, are known as lymphomas. The tonsils and base of the tongue both contain lymphoid tissue.

5

Benign oral cavity tumors: Several types of non-cancerous tumors and tumor-like conditions may develop in the oral cavity and oropharynx. Sometimes, these conditions may develop into cancer. For this reason, benign tumors are often surgically removed. The types of benign lesions include: Leukoplakia and erythroplakia: These non-cancerous conditions develop when certain types of abnormal cells form in the mouth or throat. When leukoplakia develops, a white area is visible, while erythroplakia is marked by a red area, which may be flat or slightly raised and often bleeds when scraped. Both conditions may be precancerous, meaning they may develop into various types of cancer.

Tests and procedures used to diagnose lip cancer include:

1

Physical exam: During a physical exam, your doctor will examine your lip, mouth, face and neck to look for signs of cancer. You will be asked about your signs and symptoms.

2

Removing a sample of tissue for testing: During a biopsy, a small sample of tissue will be removed for laboratory testing which can determine whether cancer is present, the type of cancer and the level of aggressiveness that's present in the cancer cells.

3

Imaging tests: Imaging tests may be used to determine whether cancer has spread beyond the lip. Imaging tests may include computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET).

We at CAN-C is committed to ensuring top-quality treatment (in Bangalore) for lip cancer.

Staging describes or classifies a cancer based on how much cancer there is in the body and where it is when first diagnosed. This is often called the extent of cancer. Information from tests is used to find out the size of the tumor, which parts of the organ have cancer, whether the cancer has spread from where it first started and where the cancer has spread.

The most common staging system for oral cancer is the TNM system, which is based on 3 key pieces of information:

The extent of the tumor (T): How large is the main (primary) tumor and which, if any, tissues of the oral cavity or oropharynx it has spread to?
The spread to nearby lymph nodes (N): Has the cancer spread to nearby lymph nodes?
The spread (metastasis) to distant sites (M): Has the cancer spread to distant organs such as the lungs?

CAN-C: Provide lip cancer treatment (in Bangalore) carefully tailored to you for the best results.

It is not always possible to prevent lip cancer. However, you can reduce the risk of developing lip cancer by:

1

Stop using tobacco or don't start: If you use tobacco, stop. If you don't use tobacco, don't start. Using tobacco, whether smoked or chewed, exposes the cells in your mouth to dangerous cancer-causing chemicals.

2

Drink alcohol only in moderation, if at all: Chronic excessive alcohol use can irritate the cells in your mouth, making them vulnerable to mouth cancer. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

3

Avoid excessive sun exposure to your lips: Protect the skin on your lips from the sun by staying in the shade when possible. Wear a broad-brimmed hat that effectively shades your entire face, including your mouth. Apply a sunscreen lip product as part of your routine sun protection regimen.

"CAN-C: Leading centre for lip cancer treatment in Bangalore."

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How Lip Cancer is treated?

Our goal is to treat lip cancer in ways that cause as little damage to healthy tissue as possible. We at CAN-C in Bangalore, develop individual treatment plans based on the size, location and stage of each patient's lip cancer. Surgery is often the first treatment option for lip cancer that has been detected at an early stage. Surgery also may be included in a treatment program for advanced-stage cancer. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy, or a combination of these, also may be options for patients with lip cancer.

Several types of operations can be used to treat lip cancer. Depending on where the cancer is and its stage, different operations may be used to remove the cancer. Surgery is often the first treatment used for these cancers. It's most commonly used for early stage cancers, those that are small and haven't spread.

After cancer is removed, reconstructive surgery can be done to help restore the appearance and function of the areas affected by the cancer or cancer treatment.

Tumor resection: In a tumor resection, the entire tumor and a margin (edge) of normal-looking tissue around it is removed (resected). The margin of normal tissue is taken out to reduce the chance of any cancer cells being left behind.

The main (primary) tumor is removed using a method based on its size and location. For example, if a tumor is in the front of the mouth, it might be relatively easy to remove it through the mouth. But a larger tumor (especially when it has grown into the oropharynx) may need to be removed through an incision (cut) in the neck or by cutting the jaw bone with a special saw to get to the tumor. (This is called a mandibulotomy.)

We are passionate about delivering technologically advanced lip cancer treatment in Bangalore.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or particles to destroy cancer cells or slow their rate of growth. Radiation therapy can be used in many ways to treat lip cancers:

1. It can be used as the main treatment for small cancers.
2. People with larger cancers may need both surgery and radiation therapy or a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy or a targeted drug.
3. After surgery, radiation therapy can be used, either alone or with chemotherapy, as an additional (adjuvant) treatment to try to kill any cancer cells that might not have been removed during surgery. This is called adjuvant radiation therapy.
4. Radiation may be used (along with chemotherapy) to try to shrink some larger cancers before surgery. This is called neoadjuvant therapy. In some cases, this makes it possible to use less extensive surgery and remove less tissue.
5. Radiation therapy can also be used to help ease symptoms of advanced cancer, such as pain, bleeding, trouble swallowing, and problems caused by bone metastases (cancer that has spread to bones).

External beam radiation therapy: The most common way to give radiation for these cancers is to carefully focus a beam of radiation from a machine outside the body. This is called external beam radiation therapy or EBRT.

Brachytherapy: Another way to deliver radiation is by placing radioactive materials right into or near the cancer. This is called internal radiation, interstitial radiation, or brachytherapy. The radiation travels only a very short distance, which limits its effects on nearby normal tissues.

Chemotherapy (chemo) is the use of anti-cancer drugs to treat cancer. For oral cavity cancer like lip cancer, the drugs are given into a vein or taken by mouth, which allows them to enter the bloodstream and reach cancer that has spread throughout the body. Chemo may be used in several different situations:

1. Chemo (typically combined with radiation therapy) may be used instead of surgery as the main treatment for some cancers. (This is called chemoradiation.)
2. Chemo (combined with radiation therapy) may be given after surgery to try to kill any small deposits of cancer cells that may have been left behind. This is known as adjuvant chemotherapy.
3. Chemo (sometimes with radiation therapy) may be used to try to shrink some larger cancers before surgery. This is called neoadjuvant or induction chemotherapy. In some cases, this makes it possible to use less radical surgery and remove less tissue. This can lead to fewer serious side effects from surgery.
4. Chemo (with or without radiation therapy) can be used to treat cancers that are too large or have spread too far to be removed by surgery. The goal is to slow the growth of the cancer for as long as possible and to help relieve any symptoms the cancer is causing.

We have been rated as outstanding cancer centre for lip cancer treatment in Bangalore.

Targeted drugs work differently from standard chemotherapy (chemo) drugs.
Cetuximab (Erbitux®) is a man-made version of an immune system protein, called a monoclonal antibody. It targets a protein on the surface of certain cells called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that helps cells grow and divide. By blocking EGFR, cetuximab can help slow or stop cell growth.

Cetuximab may be combined with radiation therapy for some earlier stage cancers. For more advanced cancers, it may be combined with standard chemo drugs such as cisplatin, or it may be used by itself. Cetuximab is given by infusion into a vein (IV).

Immunotherapy is the use of medicines that help a person's own immune system find and destroy cancer cells. It can be used to treat some people with oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors: An important part of the immune system is its ability to keep itself from attacking normal cells in the body. To do this, it uses "checkpoints" - proteins on immune cells that need to be turned on (or off) to start an immune response. Cancer cells sometimes use these checkpoints to avoid being attacked by the immune system. But newer drugs that target these checkpoints hold a lot of promise as cancer treatments.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo) are drugs that target PD-1, a protein on immune system cells called T cells that normally helps keep these cells from attacking other cells in the body. By blocking PD-1, these drugs boost the immune response against cancer cells. This can shrink some tumors or slow their growth.

These drugs can be used after chemotherapy in people with lip cancer that has returned after treatment or that has spread to other parts of the body. These drugs are given as an intravenous (IV) infusion.

CAN-C: Over the years, we have been offering high-standard and top-quality treatment (in Bangalore) for lip cancer.

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